Forgotten Love
by Bookie2
Summary: Celene isn't the only only who suffered under Zaibach. A boy she once knew returns, and then leaves forevor.


"Celena......"  
  
Celena screamed and Liam collapsed, clutching his chest. This had never happened before, he wasn't quite sure what to do. Maybe get up and fight? No, he was much to tired for that.   
  
Warm arms wrapped around his neck, and Liam opened his eyes. When had he closed them? Celena was over him, weeping. Silly girl, didn't he tell her not to cry?  
------  
  
"Ten silver for the boy."  
  
Dorin shivered. That wasn't enough, they'd end up selling Teta too, for that price.  
  
"Are you kidding me? Look at this boy's arms," Dorin's father yanked up his sleeve and shoved his arm into the other man's face. "This kid could do a man's work no problem, and you want him for ten silver?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Make it fifty and I'll consider it."  
  
"No."  
  
"Then we aren't interested."  
  
"Fine."  
  
The man turned to go, and Dorin's father became more and more agitated. Their family needed the money, Dorin knew he would cave and hand him over soon enough. The buyer was almost out the door when his father cursed and kicked his son forward.  
  
"Fine, give me the ten god damn silver and get out."  
  
The man handed over the money and led Dorin out into the streets to his new life.   
------  
"Celena..."  
  
Celena let out a strangled sob and hugged him tighter, her tears falling onto his cheek and down his neck. God, this girl was impossible. Her grip loosened and she looked at him again. Strange, she was rather blurry this time.   
  
Liam rose his hand to cup her cheek, but the harder he tried, he heavier his hand became. Releasing her grip from his neck, Celena entwined her fingers with his.   
  
"Dorin..."  
------  
"What's your name?"  
  
The girl before him was five or six, maybe two years younger then him. Her eyes were watery and she was shaking, as if she were constantly on the verge of breaking down and sobbing. Jajuka put his hands on her shoulders as if to steady her.  
  
"Her name is Celena."  
  
Dorin smiled. "Celena. That's a nice name. I'm Dorin." He held out his hand, grinning. Celene just stared at him.   
  
"Are you okay?" Dorin took a step forward. The girl took a step back.  
  
"She's had a long trip. Let her rest." Hiding his disappointment, Dorin nodded. "I'll make her supper."  
------  
"Celena....I..."  
  
"Shhh, Dorin, don't talk." A good idea, Liam couldn't seem to get the words out anyway. A shiver ran down his spine. Everything was getting colder. How the hell did he end up like this anyway, lying on his back with Celena holding on to him? It wasn't that he didn't mind Celena holding on to him, but the fact that he couldn't get up was making Liam a little nervous.  
  
Wait, there was blood somewhere, he could smell it. Usually the smell would excite him, but it just couldn't hold his interest. There was someone bleeding though, so there had to be danger. Liam started to grope for his sword.   
  
"Dorin, don't..."  
------  
Dorin woke to a shivering body in his bed. Gently, he pulled the sheet down and started petting Celena's golden hair.  
  
"Are you crying again?"  
  
A faint shake of the head was her response as the girl buried herself deeper into her friend's chest.   
  
"What did I tell you about crying?"  
  
"That...that...it just tells...it tells..."  
  
"It just tells everyone that you're sad," Dorin finished for her, "and that will make them want to make you sadder. If you smile, and look strong on the outside, then you'll feel strong on the inside."  
  
Celena just mumbled and sniffled, using Dorin's shirt as a handkerchief. Dorin didn't mind of course, he was used to it. He just held onto her and pet her head until she had stopped shaking.  
  
"Are you okay now?"  
  
Celena nodded and looked up, attempting a weak smile.  
  
"Now, what were you crying about this time?"  
  
The smile disappeared instantly. "Where's Jajuka?"  
  
"He's out."  
  
"He's been out for three days!"  
  
"The magicians have him out doing something. He'll be back."  
  
"What if he won't."  
  
"What?"  
  
Celena's eyes started to water again. "What if he doesn't come back?"   
  
Dorin smiled, hiding his dread. "Then I'll take care of you."  
------  
"I...."  
  
There it was, Liam could feel his sword's hilt. Whatever was going to happen, he was going to defend her, until the end.  
  
"Dorin, stop!"  
  
Celena's hand was on his arm, trying to pry the sword from his fingers. The girl had gone mad, she didn't know what she was doing. There was danger around, he could feel it. Their shift in position caused Liam's head to tilt back off Celena's knee, where he faced a blurry and upside down dead man.  
  
Well, that was where the blood was coming from, so where was the killer?  
------  
"Dorin, come with me." Dorin was going to complain that he wasn't done eating, but the look Jajuka was giving him told the boy to shut up and obey. Celena stood up from the table.  
  
"Where are you taking him?"  
  
"For an appointment." Dorin turned to Celena and flashed a grin. The girl looked back and forth from her two companions for some sort of comfort, but was met with silence.  
  
Jajuka led Dorin through the streets of Zaibach, on the dirtiest route, and stopped at a large building. For a while they just stood there, both of them staring and the door, only one knowing what was behind it.  
  
Finally, Jajuka turned to the boy who had been his charge for only three months. "Dorin. I leave you here."  
  
Ignoring the feeling inside his guts, Dorin nodded. The beast man looked at him for a little while, considering.  
  
"You know it will be painful." Dorin could take any pain. He nodded.  
  
"You will loose your identity." He would get it back again. He nodded.  
  
"You will probably loose your memory." Dorin would never forget, he nodded.  
  
"And, Dorin, you will never see Celena or me again." There was nowhere they could go where Dorin would not find them. He nodded.  
  
Another long pause, and then, as if in defeat, Jajuka unlocked the door in front of them and opened it. Dorin walked in alone.  
------  
"Ce...Celena...."  
  
Everything was getting darker, more confusing. Liam couldn't focus. Another hand was in the struggle. It took Liam's sword from him without effort. Liam looked up. A man in the blue garb of a Asturian knight with long golden hair falling about him was kneeling, an unhappy look on his face.   
  
"Allen...brother...please."  
  
The knight bowed his head. "I'm sorry Celena, I had to act." Was this the murderer? Celena's brother?  
------  
"Liam, you disappoint me. You've never failed an assassination before. What happened?"  
  
How was he going to explain this? "I don't know."  
  
"You don't know?" Liam bowed his head a little lower. "What in heaven's name is there not to know? The king of Fanelia is still alive, and I want to know why!"  
  
Liam did too. The entire subject was a little confusing. He had gotten to the palace fine, killed two or three of the guards for good measure, and found the king no problem. But when he had attacked, that girl...  
  
"What?"  
  
Liam looked up.  
  
"What girl?"  
  
"A...There was this girl..."  
  
The generals looked at each other.  
  
"That girl from the mystic moon?"  
  
"But they said she returned!"  
  
"If Fanelia still has that as a weapon, we have no chance for retribution."  
  
"No." The two men before him turned back to Liam. "She was Asturian, the sister of a knight."  
  
The general's leaned back in their chairs, obviously relieved. "Then what was the problem?"  
  
"I don't know. I was going to kill the king and... she..."  
  
"Dorin! NOO!"  
  
"She..."  
  
"Dorin! It's Celena, please remember!  
  
That girl! She wouldn't leave his head! Liam moaned and grabbed at his hair. Who the hell was she?  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
Everything was going black, what was happening to him?  
  
"Her name is Celena."  
  
God, it hurt! Liam let out a scream and struggled to his feet.  
  
"Celena, that's a nice name."  
  
Someone was coming, an enemy! Liam quickly shifted into the mind of a killer, waiting for his prey to come just close enough, then unsheathing his sword in one quick stroke, neatly cutting the man's head off. More people were coming. The smell of blood was filling is nostrils, sending him to happy madness. With a roar, Liam lunged into battle.  
------  
"Dorin!"  
  
Liam woke up again. Had he been dreaming? And what was that Celena kept calling him? Tori? Dori? It didn't matter, there was a murder to solve. Of course, it would be a lot easier to think if he weren't so god damn cold.   
  
He struggled to get up, but there was something immensely heavy on his chest. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't breathing very well either.  
  
"Allen...please...do something..."  
  
The man in blue shook his head. "I'm sorry Celena, there's nothing I can do. He was going to kill you."  
  
Celena let out a choked sob and buried her face in Liam's chest. The feeling was comforting somehow, it made him think about childhood and fireplaces.  
  
"Celena..."  
------  
People were talking. Feigning sleep, Liam listened in.  
  
"The last of those fate altercated things this one is. They say his mind was already tipsy when they operated on him, so the whole thing just pushed him over the edge."  
  
"Wasn't Dilandau one of those?"  
  
"Yeah, that's why he was so freaky. Turns out he started out the sister of some big knight."  
  
"Sister?"  
  
"Yup. Weird huh? This one was supposed to change too, but the whole experiment sort of failed."   
  
Failure? Liam would show them failure. He'd go back to Fanalia, rip that coward king's spine from his back and strangle both those uptight generals with it. Liam was not a failure, he was the best assassin in all of Gaea! He'd show them, he'd show every single one just what a failure could do.  
  
Fanelia wasn't really that far away. Liam easily snuck out and killed a man for his horse, riding until the beast collapsed in exhaustion, then walking a ways until he came upon another victim.  
  
He entered the palace just as he had before. The guards hadn't gotten any smarter. Sneaking about the corridors, Liam looked for a good place to hide out. Finding a quiet room, he hid himself among the furniture and waited.   
  
Soon, two figures walked in. One closed the doors, and the other started to whimper. The first strode over to her and clasped his hand to the girl's mouth.  
  
"Shut up. You had better do this or I'll tell everyone what kind of freak you are. That would really make your dashing brother unhappy, wouldn't it?"  
  
Liam adjusted himself for a better view. This was going to be interesting. The man grabbed his prey roughly and pushed her against the wall. With a smirk, the assassin crept closer. It wasn't every day he got this type of entertainment.   
  
The girl struggled and pushed her assailant away just far enough so that Liam could see her face.   
  
That bastard, he was hurting Celena! With a roar, Liam lunged himself at the man, landing a fist squarely on his back. The man turned around stunned, but quickly smiled and drew his sword as he saw Liam's small frame.   
  
His opponent was a pitiful swordsman, not even worth a sweat. Liam parried and blocked, dodging careless swipes like a cat. The longer the fight lasted, the more Liam's blood boiled. Soon, the urge was too much, and with a deft swipe the assassin cut his opponent from the shoulder to the hip.  
------  
"Liam."  
  
"Is that my name?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I don't remember."  
  
"Don't worry. You don't need to. We're going to guide you to great things, give you the power you know you deserve. Just lean back and relax while we finish this, and then you can start training."  
------  
Liam inhaled the scent of fresh blood, chuckling at his finesse. A sob brought his attention to the corner, where Celena stood. That girl, she was too much trouble, he'd have to kill her. Liam strode forward, sword in hand, a smile playing on his face.  
  
"Come now little girl, I did you a favor. Come here so you can repay me."  
  
The girl backed into the wall, evident panic written across her face.  
  
"Dorin... don't."  
  
This girl was giving him the creeps. She had to die. He had to kill her.   
  
"Dorin, please remember."  
  
She was spouting nonsense, making his head hurt. This god damn girl was the cause of his pain!  
  
"I'm Celena, please remember. I know you can fight it!"  
  
The girl had pushed away from to wall and started to walk toward him. Startled, Liam stopped.  
  
"Remember? Dorin? You used to give me your food when Jajuka wasn't looking. Remember?"  
  
Jajuka? The girl kept creeping closer, and Liam started to step back.  
  
"And at night, we only had one old blanket with holes in it, so you'd let me sleep huddled against you?"  
  
She was scaring him. Liam's head was throbbing, something was very wrong. His back hit a wall, and still she kept coming.  
  
"And you'd tell me not to cry, because it would just show people you were sad. Remember?"  
  
"No..." Liam had his sword up. It's bloody tip pointed at the girls chest.  
  
"And...And...You'd tell me whenever I was sad...that you'd protect me? Dorin?"  
  
The sword was touching her, and still she came forward, Liam had to relax his grip to keep her from impaling herself.   
  
"You'd talk about how you and me and Jajuka would go to Daedalus, and fish the rivers for a living, and Zaibach would never find us, and we'd live happily ever after. Remember? Dorin!"  
  
She was getting louder, and closer, he could feel her breath. "Celena..."  
  
A smile lighted on her lips, and her hand reached up to touch his cheek.  
  
The door slid open, bathing the two in light.  
  
"Oy! She's here, hurry!"  
  
Enemies! Liam shoved Celena away and attacked, cutting down the guard in a flash. Ignoring Celena's cries, he cut down man after man, laughing as they screamed and died. Someone grabbed his arm, and spinning, he decked his assailant. Celena flew to the ground, clutching her face.   
  
That was it. One of them was going to die, and it sure as hell wasn't going to be him. With blood dripping down his face, he charged blindly, his sword ready to cut his pain away.   
  
And then...  
------  
"Celena..."  
  
The weight on Liam's chest was replaced with pain, and suddenly he realized what was happening, what had happened, what was going to happen.   
  
He was going to die.  
  
"No..."  
  
"Dorin, Dorin?"  
  
"I...Celena...I'm...I'm scared..."  
  
"Dorin, it's okay." Her arms were around him, holding him like a mother would hold a sick child. "You'll be alright. Just rest. Just relax. You'll see Jajuka soon. He'll take care of you."  
  
"Jajuka...I miss him."  
  
Celena stroked his hair. She really shouldn't do that, it was full of blood and grime. "I know, I miss him too."  
  
A ripple of pain flew through Dorin's body, and he felt himself cough up blood. He couldn't see anything, he couldn't move. Everything was going away. Everything was disappearing.  
  
"Celena..."  
  
"Yes, Dorin?"  
  
"I...nnng..."  
  
He couldn't say it, his mouth wasn't working, it was betraying him. Everything was betraying him. Celena sighed, and kissed him so lightly that he could feel the smile on her lips.  
  
"I know Dorin. I love you too." 


End file.
